he New South Wales Origin side has completed its first full training session and players say the Coffs Harbour getaway is already paying dividends.
The squad ran a closed session on Wednesday morning before media were allowed in for the final 15 minutes, during which the side ran some drills and an opposed session. Both fullback Jarryd Hayne and new five-eighth Josh Reynolds were doing plenty of talking, and it looked like the Roosters left-edge combination of Michael Jennings and Daniel Tupou were slotting into their customary side with the Morris twins Brett and Josh on the right.
After the session, Josh Morris told journalists the most important part of the session was to run through some plays so there's no confusion about how the team will go about their attack.
"It was important we got that session out of the way and making sure our sessions are clear and concise and sharp going into Wednesday's game," he said.
"It's probably mainly the halves [directing us around], they've got a big job to do. Obviously with Robbie [Farah]'s help and Jarryd's help they're going to steer us around."
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Morris said it was great to get away from Sydney and its distractions so "we can concentrate solely on the football and focus on that side of things".
"We've picked a side on form, there's a good mix of the older fellas – Gal [Paul Gallen] and Lewy [Luke Lewis]and Choccy [Anthony] Watmough and blokes like myself and Brett [Morris] who have been here for a couple of years, then we've got the debutants who add that enthusiasm and their form as well leading into it, so it's a good mix," he added.
"As well as the facilities we've got here – that's going to optimise our performance."
He said part of the thinking behind the Coffs Harbour getaway was a renewed focus on professionalism.
"I guess there's plenty of sights around [Coogee, where last year's camp was], there's not much around here at the moment. I don't think anyone slept on the tiles last night either so that's all right too!
"I think moving forward that's the direction Laurie wants to take it. We want to be ultra-professional and this is one of the best training facilities in Australia so that's only going to be of benefit to New South Wales."
